Endoscope tip cover and endoscope

Abstract

An endoscope distal end cover (10) is a cover for protecting a distal end (20t) of an endoscope (20) which has an observation window at the distal end, including: a synthetic polymer film (13) which is to be located over the observation window (32) when the endoscope distal end cover is attached to the distal end of the endoscope, wherein the synthetic polymer film has a surface which includes a plurality of raised portions, when viewed in a normal direction of the synthetic polymer film, a two-dimensional size of the plurality of raised portions is in the range of more than 20 nm and less than 500 nm, and a static contact angle of water with respect to the surface is not less than 98°.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An endoscope distal end cover for protecting a distal end of an endoscope which has an observation window at the distal end, comprising:
 a synthetic polymer film which is to be located over the observation window when the endoscope distal end cover is attached to the distal end of the endoscope, 
 wherein the synthetic polymer film has a surface which includes a plurality of raised portions, 
 when viewed in a normal direction of the synthetic polymer film, a two-dimensional size of the plurality of raised portions is in the range of more than 20 nm and less than 500 nm, 
 a static contact angle of water with respect to the surface is not less than 98°, 
 the synthetic polymer film includes a resin film which is made of a photocurable resin, 
 the photocurable resin contains a first polymerizable fluoric compound which contains a fluorine element, 
 the first polymerizable fluoric compound has a plurality of polymerizable functional groups and has a molecular weight of not less than 1000 and not more than 5000, and 
 at the lapse of 5 minutes since placing a 200 μL drop of water on the surface of the synthetic polymer film, a pH of an aqueous solution is not less than 6.5 and not more than 7.5. 
 
     
     
       2. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , wherein the static contact angle of water with respect to the surface of the synthetic polymer film is not less than 128°. 
     
     
       3. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , further comprising a liquid film of a water-repellent oil covering a surface of at least a portion of the synthetic polymer film located on the observation window. 
     
     
       4. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 3 , wherein the water-repellent oil is a silicone oil or a fluoric oil. 
     
     
       5. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 3 , wherein the water-repellent oil is a silicone oil whose kinematic viscosity is lower than 350 mm 2 /s. 
     
     
       6. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 3 , wherein the water-repellent oil is a silicone oil whose kinematic viscosity is equal to or lower than 10 mm 2 /s. 
     
     
       7. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , wherein the synthetic polymer film further includes a water-repellent and oil-repellent layer formed on the resin film. 
     
     
       8. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , wherein
 the photocurable resin contains a photopolymerization initiator, and 
 the photopolymerization initiator contains at least one of the group consisting of ethanone, 1-[9-ethyl-6-(2-methylbenzoyl)-9H-carbazole-3-yl]-, 1-(O-acetyloxime), 2-hydroxy-1-{4-[4-(2-hydroxy-2-methyl-propionyl)-benzyl]phenyl}-2-methyl-propan-1-one, and 1-[4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-phenyl]-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-propane-1-one. 
 
     
     
       9. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , wherein
 the photocurable resin further contains a second polymerizable fluoric compound which contains the fluorine element, and 
 the second polymerizable fluoric compound is a monofunctional polymerizable compound and has a molecular weight of not less than 100 and not more than 1000. 
 
     
     
       10. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , wherein a proportion of the first polymerizable fluoric compound to the photocurable resin is not less than 1 mass % and not more than 5 mass %. 
     
     
       11. An endoscope comprising the endoscope distal end cover as set forth in  claim 1 , the endoscope distal end cover being attached to the endoscope. 
     
     
       12. The endoscope distal end cover of  claim 1 , further comprising a liquid film of a water-repellent oil covering a surface of at least a portion of the synthetic polymer film located on the observation window, wherein
 the synthetic polymer film further includes a water-repellent and oil-repellent layer formed on the resin film.